Anti-peeping device and control method

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an anti-peeping device comprising: a plate-shaped substrate; a transparent cover plate disposed in parallel with the plate-shaped substrate; and a plurality of light blocking walls between the transparent cover plate and the plate-shaped substrate, the plurality of light blocking walls being disposed in parallel with and spaced apart from one another. A first end of each light blocking wall is deflectably connected to the plate-shaped substrate, and a second end of each light blocking wall opposite to the first end is deflectably connected to the transparent cover plate, such that each light blocking wall is deflected when the transparent cover plate moves relative to the plate-shaped substrate. The present invention further provides a control method for the anti-peeping device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No.201410331745.6 filed on Jul. 11, 2014 in the State Intellectual PropertyOffice of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of display technology, andmore specifically to an anti-peeping device for a display device and acontrol method for the anti-peeping device.

2. Description of the Related Art

At present, a conventional anti-peeping device or anti-peeping film isbased on grating-type light blocking walls that blocks light at certainviewing angles, so that a user can watch contents output by a displaydevice only at an allowed range of viewing angle. If a user stands outof the allowed range predetermined during manufacture of theanti-peeping device, he/she will not be able to watch the contents ofthe display device because of the grating-type light blocking walls.

For example, an existing grating type anti-peeping device is shown inFIG. 1. The anti-peeping device comprises a plate-shaped substrate 1,and a plurality of light blocking walls 2 fixed on the plate-shapedsubstrate 1. Each of the light blocking walls 2 is disposedperpendicularly to the plate-shaped substrate 1. As shown in FIG. 1,depending on the way in which each of the light blocking walls 2 isdisposed, a region between a sightline a and a sightline b is an allowedwatching region, and a region at the left side of the sightline a and aregion at the right side of the sightline b are an unallowed watchingregions. Users standing in the allowed watching region can watch atleast parts of the content from a display device, and users standing inthe unallowed watching region cannot watch the content from the displaydevice totally or at least cannot watch the content from the displaydevice clearly.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of light blockingwalls 2 are fixed on the plate-shaped substrate 1, and each of the lightblocking walls 2 is inclined towards the left side, so that it forms asharp angle to the left side of the plate-shaped substrate 1, and formsan obtuse angle to the right side of the plate-shaped substrate 1. Asshown in FIG. 2, depending on the way in which each of the lightblocking walls 2 is disposed, a region between a sightline a and asightline b is an allowed watching region, and a region at the left sideof the sightline a and a region at the right side of the sightline b arenon-viewable regions. Users standing in the viewable region can watch atleast parts of the content from a display device, and users standing inthe non-viewable region cannot watch the content from the display devicetotally or at least cannot watch the content from the display deviceclearly.

In a further example, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of light blockingwalls 2 are fixed on the plate-shaped substrate 1 and each of the lightblocking walls 2 is inclined towards the right side, so that it forms asharp angle to the right side of the plate-shaped substrate 1, and formsan obtuse angle to the left side of the plate-shaped substrate 1. Asshown in FIG. 3, depending on the way in which each of the lightblocking walls 2 is disposed, a region between a sightline a and asightline b is an allowed watching region, and a region at the left sideof the sightline a and a region at the right side of the sightline b areunallowed watching regions. Users standing in the allowed watchingregion can watch at least parts of the content from a display device,and users standing in the unallowed watching region cannot watch thecontent from the display device totally or at least cannot watch thecontent from the display device clearly.

From the above examples, the inventor finds that, since the lightblocking walls 2 are fixedly attached to the plate-shaped substrate 1,the angle formed between each light blocking wall 2 and the plate-shapedsubstrate 1 is fixed. That is to say, a light blocking angle of eachlight blocking wall 2 is fixed, and the allowed watching region and theunallowed watching regions are also fixed. If a user wants to change theallowed watching region and the unallowed watching regions, he or shehas to replace the anti-peeping device with another one of a differenttype.

Therefore, safety and applicability of current anti-peeping devices arepoor, and users have to buy different anti-peeping devices, which leadsto a high cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to overcome or alleviate at leastone aspect of the above mentioned disadvantages.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide ananti-peeping device.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an anti-peepingdevice comprises: a plate-shaped substrate; a transparent cover platedisposed in parallel with the plate-shaped substrate; and a plurality oflight blocking walls between the transparent cover plate and theplate-shaped substrate, the plurality of light blocking walls beingdisposed in parallel with and spaced apart from one another. A first endof each light blocking wall is deflectably connected to the plate-shapedsubstrate, and a second end of each light blocking wall opposite to thefirst end is deflectably connected to the transparent cover plate, suchthat each light blocking wall is deflected correspondingly when thetransparent cover plate moves relative to the plate-shaped substrate.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, theanti-peeping device further comprises a manual adjusting device forcontrolling a relative position relationship between the transparentcover plate and the plate-shaped substrate. The manual adjusting devicecomprises: a connecting rod with one end thereof connected to thetransparent cover plate, the connecting rod comprising screw threads onits outer surface; and a knob having a threaded hole for engaging withthe screw threads of the connecting rod. The knob is threaded onto theconnecting rod and is retained at a fixed position relative to theplate-shaped substrate, such that rotation of the knob causes theconnecting rod to move and in turn causes the transparent cover plate tomove relative to the plate-shaped substrate.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, theanti-peeping device further comprises an automatic adjusting device forcontrolling a relative position relationship between the transparentcover plate and the plate-shaped substrate. The automatic adjustingdevice comprises: a leading screw; a nut threaded onto the leadingscrew, the nut being securely connected to the transparent cover plates;a driving device for rotating the leading screw; an input unit forreceiving an instruction from a user; and a controller configured tocontrol the driving device based on the instruction to rotate theleading screw so that the nut is moved along the leading screw.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, theanti-peeping device further comprises: a driving device for moving thetransparent cover plate; an information acquiring device for acquiringfeatures of a current user's face; and a control device for storingtherein predetermined features of a predetermined user's face. Thecontrol device is configured to receive the acquired features, conduct acomparison between the acquired features and the predetermined features,and control the driving device and the information acquiring devicebased on a result of the comparison.

Another object of the present invention is to provide control methodsfor the above anti-peeping devices.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a control methodfor an anti-peeping device comprises: moving the transparent coverplate; stopping moving the transparent cover plate when the transparentcover plate has been moved to a desired position; and fixing theposition of the transparent cover plate relative to the plate-shapedsubstrate.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a controlmethod for an anti-peeping device comprises: presetting predeterminedfeatures of a predetermined user's face; acquiring features of a currentuser's face; conducting a comparison between the acquired features andthe predetermined features to determine whether or not the current useris the predetermined user; and controlling the anti-peeping device basedon a result of the comparison.

With the anti-peeping device of the present application, the unallowedrange of viewing angle of the anti-peeping device can be changed toimprove the anti-peeping performance. Furthermore, since the unallowedrange of viewing angle of the anti-peeping device can be changed, usersdo not have to replace the anti-peeping device to change the allowed andthe unallowed watching regions, so that overall usage cost of theanti-peeping device can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will become moreapparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a structure schematic drawing of an existing anti-peepingdevice;

FIG. 2 is a structure schematic drawing of another existing anti-peepingdevice;

FIG. 3 is a structure schematic drawing of still another existinganti-peeping device;

FIG. 4 is a structure schematic drawing of an anti-peeping deviceaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of the anti-peeping device of FIG. 4,showing the principle of the anti-peeping device;

FIG. 6 is a structure schematic drawing of an anti-peeping deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a structure schematic drawing of an anti-peeping deviceaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a structure schematic drawing of an anti-peeping deviceaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative flow chart of a control method for theanti-peeping device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative flow chart of a control method for theanti-peeping device according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative flow chart of a control method for theanti-peeping device according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 12 is an illustrative flow chart of a control method for theanti-peeping device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS OF THE DRAWINGS

1: plate-shaped substrate

2: light blocking wall

3: transparent cover plate

4: flexible isolator

5: connecting rod

6: knob

7: motor

8: screw

9: nut

10: control device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedhereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, whereinthe like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The presentdisclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein;rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosurewill be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of thedisclosure to those skilled in the art.

It is to be noted that, throughout the specification, the termsindicating directions or position relations, such as “center”, “up”,“down”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”,“top”, “bottom”, “inner”, and “outer”, are based on the attacheddrawings, and are used to simplify the description of the presentinvention. These terms do not mean to indicate or imply that certaindevice or component should have a certain orientation or should bespecifically constructed, and these terms should not be considered as alimitation to the present invention. Besides, the term “connection” usedherein may be an “electrical connection”, a “wireless connection”,and/or a “physical connection”, as long as such a connection couldachieve desired effect.

An anti-peeping device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 4, theanti-peeping device according to the first embodiment comprises atransparent plate-shaped substrate 1, a transparent cover plate 3, and aplurality of light blocking walls 2 deflectably disposed between theplate-shaped substrate 1 and the transparent cover plate 3. Theplurality of light blocking walls 2 are disposed to be spaced apart fromand in parallel with one another. One end of each light blocking wall 2is deflectably connected to the plate-shaped substrate 1, while theother end is deflectably connected to the transparent cover plate 3.Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the transparent cover plate 3is moved relative to the plate-shaped substrate 1, each light blockingwall 2 is deflected by the movement of the transparent cover plate 3.

The transparent cover plate 3 may be formed by transparent resin ortransparent glass. The plate-shaped substrate 1 may be a separatecomponent, such as a transparent substrate. When using the anti-peepingdevice, the transparent substrate may be fixed to a display panelthrough adhesion, embedding, or any other suitable ways. Instead ofbeing a separate component, the plate-shaped substrate 1 may also be thedisplay panel or a part of the display panel, such as a color filtersubstrate, so that the light blocking walls 2 and the transparent coverplate 3 could be directly formed on the display panel, and the lightemitted by the display panel could directly pass through the spacebetween adjacent the light blocking walls 2, and the entire weight andcost of the anti-peeping device could thereby be reduced.

The cross section of each light blocking wall 2 may be in shape of atriangle, a trapezoid, or a rectangle. As shown in FIG. 4, the shape ofthe cross section of each light blocking wall 2 is a rectangle. Thelight blocking walls 2 are disposed to be spaced apart from one another,and the intervals between adjacent light blocking walls 2 may beconstant or not constant. For example, in order to improve theperformance of displaying, no light blocking wall 2 is disposed in apredetermined region that directly faces the user, the light blockingwalls 2 are disposed outside the predetermined region, such that theintervals between adjacent light blocking walls 2 are not constant.Alternatively, the intervals between adjacent light blocking walls 2 areconstant, so that an allowed range of viewing angle of the anti-peepingdevice will be kept constant throughout the anti-peeping device, andthereby the anti-peeping performance will be improved. The lightblocking walls 2 are arranged in parallel with each other so that endsof light blocking walls 2 that are connected to the plated-shapedsubstrate 1 are in parallel with each other, and light blocking faces ofthe light blocking walls 2 are in parallel with each other.

As shown in FIG. 5, when each light blocking wall 2 is disposedperpendicular to the plated-shaped substrate 1, a region between asightline a and a sightline b is an allowed watching region, and aregion at the left side of the sightline a and a region at the rightside of the sightline b are unallowed watching regions. If the allowedwatching region and the unallowed watching regions are required to bechanged, that is, if the allowed range of viewing angle or an unallowedrange of viewing angle is to be changed, the user may move thetransparent cover plate 3 to the left or to the right so as to changethe allowed range of viewing angle, due to the deflectable connectionbetween one end of each light blocking wall 2 and the plate-shapedsubstrate 1 and the deflectable connection between the other end of eachlight blocking wall 2 and the transparent cover plate 3.

From the above, with the anti-peeping device according to the embodimentof the present application, the allowed range of viewing angle can bechanged as required. In contrast to existing anti-peeping device whoselight blocking walls are fixed, anti-peeping performance andapplicability of the anti-peeping device according to the embodiment ofthe present application can be significantly improved. Therefore, theallowed range of viewing angle can be changed without replacing acurrent anti-peeping device with one of a different type, and overallcost can be reduced.

As stated above, one end of each light blocking wall 2 is deflectablyconnected to the plate-shaped substrate 1, and the other end isdeflectably connected to the transparent cover plate 3. The ability ofdeflection of the light blocking walls 2 can be achieved through manydifferent ways. For example, each light blocking wall 2 may be a rigidlight blocking wall, one end of which is connected to the plate-shapedsubstrate 1 via a flexible connection, and the other end of which isconnected to the transparent cover plate 3 also via a flexibleconnection, so that the light blocking wall 2 is deflectable withrespect to the plate-shaped substrate 1 and the transparent cover plate3. Or, each light blocking wall 2 may be a flexible light blocking wall,such that each light blocking wall 2 may be directly connected to theplate-shaped substrate 1 and the transparent cover plate 3, because thelight blocking wall itself can provide the deflection characteristic.

The above anti-peeping device's anti-peeping effect is achieved by lightblocking walls 2 that block sightline in a certain range. Specifically,hereinafter, the region between two adjacent light blocking walls 2 isreferred to as a light transmitting region, through which the light fromthe display panel can pass. A face of each light blocking wall 2 thatfaces the transmitting region is referred to as a light blocking face.An unallowed range of viewing angle can be changed through changing theangle between each light blocking wall 2 and the plate-shaped substrate1 or the transparent cover plate 3. The light blocking face may be alight absorbing face. The light absorbing face can be achieved bymanufacturing the light blocking wall 2 from a light absorbing material,or by applying a light absorbing layer made from a light absorbingmaterial to the sides of the light blocking wall 2. In another exemplaryembodiment, the light blocking face may be a light reflecting face. Thelight absorbing face can be achieved by manufacturing the light blockingwall 2 from a light reflecting material, or by applying a lightreflecting layer made from a light reflecting material to the sides ofthe light blocking wall 2.

In order to protect the anti-peeping device from damages due tounsuitable operations and improve service life of the anti-peepingdevice, the anti-peeping device alternatively comprises at least twoflexible isolators 4 disposed between the plate-shaped substrate 1 andthe transparent cover plate 3, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Each of theflexible isolators 4 is connected at its two ends to peripheral portionsof plate-shaped substrate 1 and the transparent cover plate 3,respectively. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, both the plate-shapedsubstrate 1 and the transparent cover plate 3 are in a shape of arectangle, and the two flexible isolators 4 are disposed on two oppositeouter sides of the plurality of light blocking walls 2 respectively tobe in parallel with each of the light blocking walls 2. The flexibleisolators 4 may support the transparent cover plate 3 and prevent thetransparent cover plate 3 from falling onto the plate-shaped substrate 1and damaging the light blocking walls 2 due to gravity or unsuitableoperations, such that service life of the anti-peeping device can beimproved.

In an exemplary embodiment, four flexible isolators 4 are provided. Thefour flexible isolators 4 are disposed at four outer edges of therectangular plate-shaped substrate 1 respectively, and adjacent flexibleisolators are interconnected to form an integral structure. In such away, the four flexible isolators 4 can form a sealing structure forpreventing dirt or debris from coming into the anti-peeping device whilesupporting the transparent cover plate 3.

In order to stop or locate the transparent cover plate 3 at any positionrelative to the plate-shaped substrate 1, and prevent the light blockingwalls 2 from returning back to their original position under therestoration effect of the light blocking walls 2 or the flexibleconnections, a fixing device (not shown) may be provided to locate thetransparent cover plate 3 at any desired position. In an unshownembodiment, the fixing device may be provided on the transparent coverplate 3. Specifically, the fixing device may comprise a rack fastened tothe transparent cover plate 3 and extending in a direction along whichthe transparent cover plate 3 moves, and a toothed component fastened tothe plate-shaped substrate 1 and extending toward the transparent coverplate 3. The teeth of the rack and the teeth of the toothed componentmay engage with each other at several different positions so as tolocate the transparent cover plate 3. In an alternate embodiment, therack and the toothed component can be interchanged.

When a user presses his finger on the outer surface of the transparentcover plate 3 that faces away from the plate-shaped substrate 1 andmoves his finger, the friction force between the finger and the outersurface of the transparent cover plate 3 may force the transparent coverplate 3 to move. When the transparent cover plate 3 is moved to adesired position, the rack and the toothed component are engaged, sothat the transparent cover plate 3 is stopped at the desired positionand the unallowed range of viewing angle will be prevented from beingchanged due to the returning of the transparent cover plate 3 caused byrestoration effect of the light blocking walls 2.

The light blocking walls 2 may be damaged or broken if the displacementof the transparent cover plate 3 is too large. Therefore, a stoppingdevice (not shown) may be provided to limit the maximum displacement ofthe transparent cover plate 3 relative to the plate-shaped substrate 1in a right and left direction. In an unshown exemplary embodiment, thestopping device may comprise a frame structure disposed around andspaced apart from the transparent cover plate 3. The distance betweenthe frame structure and the transparent cover plate 3 limits a maximumdisplacement of the transparent cover plate 3 relative to theplate-shaped substrate 1 in the right and left direction. In anotherunshown exemplary embodiment, the stopping device may comprise two stopplates or stop blocks positioned respectively at a distance from twoopposite sides, for example, the left side and the right side, of thetransparent cover plate 3 respectively, so as to limit the maximumdisplacement of the transparent cover plate 3 and prevent thetransparent cover plate 3 from moving excessively.

In the anti-peeping device according to the above embodiment, theunallowed range of viewing angle can be changed by moving thetransparent cover plate 3 relative to the plate-shaped substrate 1 suchthat the light blocking walls 2 are deflected simultaneously. Thesimplest way is to press a finger on the outer surface of thetransparent cover plate 3 so as to cause the transparent cover plate 3to move under the friction force between the finger and the transparentcover plate 3. However, pressing a finger and utilizing the frictionforce to move the transparent cover plate 3 may be laboursome and willleave fingerprint on the outer surface of the transparent cover plate 3,so that it will adversely affect aesthetic feeling and displayperformance. Therefore, in an unshown exemplary embodiment, a rodconnected to one end of the transparent cover plate 3 may be provided,and the transparent cover plate 3 may be caused to move relative to theplate-shaped substrate 1 by pulling or pushing the rod, and thereforethe light blocking walls 2 are deflected simultaneously.

An anti-peeping device according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 6. The anti-peeping device in the secondembodiment is similar to the anti-peeping device in the first embodimentexcept that the anti-peeping device in the second embodiment furthercomprises a manual adjusting device for accurately adjusting theunallowed range of viewing angle of the light blocking walls 2.

In order to accurately adjust the unallowed range of viewing angle ofthe light blocking walls 2, as shown in FIG. 6, the anti-peeping devicefurther comprises a manual adjusting device for controlling thedisplacement of the transparent cover plate 3 relative to theplate-shaped substrate 1. The manual adjusting device comprises aconnecting rod 5 and a knob 6, one end of the connecting rod 5 issecurely connected to the transparent cover plate 3, and the connectingrod 5 is provided with screw threads and scales on its outer surface.The scales are used to indicate amounts of displacement of thetransparent cover plate 3 or angles at which the light blocking walls 2are deflected. The knob 6 is maintained at a relatively constantposition to the plate-shaped substrate 1, for example, by abuttingagainst a stop plate (unshown) on its left side. The knob 6 has athreaded hole for engaging with the screw threads of the connecting rod5. Initially, the knob 6 is located at a reference position on theconnecting rod 5. Then the knob 6 is rotated, and thereby the connectingrod 5 is moved relative to the knob 6, causing the transparent coverplate 3 to move accordingly relative to the plate-shaped substrate 1.Position of the knob 6 on the connecting rod 5 is changed during themovement of the connecting rod 5. Once the knob 6 is moved to a desiredscale, the rotation of the knob 6 is stopped, and the adjustingprocedure ends. Correspondingly, the transparent cover plate 3 has beenmoved to a desired position with respect to the plate-shaped substrate1.

Specifically, the connecting rod 5 moves in a first direction when theknob 6 is rotated for example in a clockwise direction, and the movementof the connecting rod 5 causes the transparent cover plate 3 to move inthe first direction, and in turn, the light blocking walls 2 aredeflected towards the first direction. Accordingly, the connecting rod 5moves in a second direction opposite to the first direction when theknob 6 is rotated for example in a counter-clockwise direction, and themovement of the connecting rod 5 causes the transparent cover plate 3 tomove in the second direction, and in turn, the light blocking walls 2are deflected towards the second direction. Once the knob 6 isrelatively moved to a desired scale on the connecting rod 5, therotation of the knob 6 may be stopped.

An anti-peeping device according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 7.

Instead of the manual adjusting device, an automatic adjusting devicemay be provided to automatically adjust the unallowed range of viewingangle of the light blocking walls 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7,the automatic adjusting device comprises: a rotational driving device,for example, a motor 7, or specifically a step motor; a leading screw 8connected to the output of the motor 7; a nut 9 mounted on the leadingscrew 8 and fastened to the transparent cover plate 3; and a controldevice 10 electrically or wirelessly connected to the motor 7 forcontrolling the operation of the motor 7.

The control device 10 may comprise an input interface or an input unit,through which a user may input data, such as direction and angle of thedeflection of the light blocking walls 2, into the control device.

In an exemplary embodiment, the input unit comprises a first button anda second button. The first button is used to input a signal forinstructing the motor 7 to rotate for example in a clockwise direction,so that the leading screw 8 rotates in the clockwise direction, and thelight blocking walls 2 are caused to deflect toward a first direction.The second button is used to input a signal for instructing the motor 7to rotate for example in a counter-clockwise direction, so that theleading screw 8 rotates in the counter-clockwise direction, and thelight blocking walls 2 are caused to deflect toward a second directionopposite to the first direction. Furthermore, the first button and thesecond button may be configured such that when the first or the secondbutton is continuously pressed down, the control device 10 controls themotor 7 and thus the leading screw to rotate continuously, so that thelight blocking walls 2 are continuously deflected toward the firstbutton or the second direction. When the light blocking walls 2 havebeen deflected to a desired position, the continuous deflection of thelight blocking walls 2 can be stopped by releasing the first button orthe second button.

In another exemplary embodiment, the input unit comprises a plurality of(for example, two) first buttons and/or a plurality of (for example,two) second buttons. Each of the first buttons or the second buttonscorresponds to a predetermined angle at which the light blocking walls 2are to be deflected. For example, one of the first buttons may be usedto deflect the light blocking walls 2 at a first angle (for example 30°)towards the first direction, and another of the first buttons may beused to deflect the light blocking walls 2 at a second angle (forexample, 60°) towards the first direction. And/or, one of the secondbuttons may be used to deflect the light blocking walls 2 at a firstangle (for example, 30°) towards the second direction, and another ofthe first buttons may correspond to deflecting the light blocking walls2 at a second angle (for example, 60°) towards the second direction. Forexample, when one of the first buttons is pressed down, the controldevice 10 sends corresponding instruction to the motor 7 to rotate theleading screw 8 and bring the transparent cover plate 3 to apredetermined position corresponding to the button, such that accurateadjustment of the light blocking walls 2 may be achieved.

An anti-peeping device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the anti-peepingdevice according to the fourth embodiment comprises a transparentplate-shaped substrate 1, a transparent cover plate 3, and a pluralityof light blocking walls 2 deflectably disposed between the plate-shapedsubstrate 1 and the transparent cover plate 3. The plurality of lightblocking walls 2 are disposed to be spaced apart from and in parallelwith one another. One end of each light blocking wall 2 is deflectablyconnected to the plate-shaped substrate 1, while the other end isdeflectably connected to the transparent cover plate 3. Therefore, whenthe transparent cover plate 3 is moved relative to the plate-shapedsubstrate 1, each light blocking wall 2 is deflected through themovement of the transparent cover plate 3.

The anti-peeping device further comprises: a driving device for drivingthe transparent cover plate 3 to move; an information acquiring devicefor acquiring, for example, features of a user's face; and a controldevice electrically or wirelessly connected to the driving device andthe information acquiring device.

In this embodiment of the anti-peeping device, predetermined features ofa predetermined user's face are preset. For example, an image of thepredetermined user's face is captured by a camera, and the predeterminedfeatures are acquired based on the image and are stored in the controldevice. The information acquiring device is used to acquire features ofa current user's face, for example, an image of current user's face, andprovide the acquired features to the control device. The control devicecompares the acquired features with the predetermined features todetermine whether or not the current user is the predetermined user. Ifit is determined that the current user is the predetermined user, anautomatic anti-peeping function is activated. After that, theinformation acquiring device acquires position information of thecurrent user in real time and provides acquired position information tothe control device. The control device controls the deflection directionand deflection angle of the light blocking walls 2 based on a relativeposition relationship between current user and the anti-peeping device,such that an automatic anti-peeping function can be achieved.Furthermore, if the current user moves out of an identifying region ofthe anti-peeping device, or the current user initiatively ends theautomatic anti-peeping function, the automatic anti-peeping process isended.

Control methods for the above embodiments are further provided.

The control method shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to the anti-peepingdevice according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Thecontrol method may comprises steps of pressing a finger on the outersurface of the transparent cover plate 3; moving the finger to move thetransparent cover plate 3 through a friction force between the fingerand the outer surface of the transparent cover plate 3; stopping movingthe finger when the transparent cover plate 3 has been moved to adesired position; and fixing the transparent cover plate 3 through anysuitable fixing device.

That is to say, the user may press his/her finger on the outer surfaceof the transparent cover plate 3 and move the finger, and thetransparent cover plate 3 will be moved towards a first direction or asecond direction opposite to the first direction through a frictionforce between the finger and the outer surface of the transparent coverplate 3, such that the light blocking walls of the anti-peeping deviceare deflected towards the first or the second direction, and thereby theunallowed range of viewing angle can be changed.

The control method shown in FIG. 10 corresponds to the anti-peepingdevice according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Thecontrol method may comprise steps of:

Step 1: rotating the knob 6, such that the connecting rod 5 is movedrelative to the knob 6 in a first direction, causing the transparentcover plate 3 to move accordingly relative to the plate-shaped substrate1 in the first direction, and the light blocking walls 2 are deflectedtowards the first direction accordingly; and

Step 2: watching scales on the connecting rod 5 to determine the allowedrange of viewing angle of the light blocking walls 2 when the connectingrod 5 is moved, and stopping rotating the knob 6 when the knob 6 hasbeen moved to a desired scale on the connecting rod 5.

Optionally, the method may further comprise steps of:

Step 3: rotating the knob 6 in a reverse direction, such that theconnecting rod 5 is moved relative to the knob 6 in a second directionopposite to the first direction, causing the transparent cover plate 3to move accordingly relative to the plate-shaped substrate 1 in thesecond direction, and the light blocking walls 2 are deflected towardsthe second direction accordingly; and

Step 4: watching scales on the connecting rod 5 to determine the allowedrange of viewing angle of the light blocking walls 2 when the connectingrod 5 is moved, and stopping rotating the knob 6 when the knob 6 hasbeen moved to a desired scale on the connecting rod 5.

Briefly, a user may rotate the knob 6 so as to move the connecting rob 5relative to the knob, the movement of the connecting rod 5 causes thetransparent cover plate 3 to move, and in turn, the light blocking walls2 are deflected, such that the unallowed range of viewing angle can bechanged.

The control method shown in FIG. 11 corresponds to the anti-peepingdevice according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Thecontrol method may comprise steps of:

Step 1: pressing down the first button to input an instruction ofdeflecting the light blocking walls 2 towards a first direction;

Step 2: receiving and sending the instruction through the controller tothe motor 7, so that the motor 7 starts to rotate in one direction;

Step 3: driving the leading screw 8 to rotate through the motor 7, suchthat the nut 9 is caused to move in the first direction, and in turn thelight blocking walls 2 are deflected towards the first direction by thetransparent cover plate 3 connected to the nut 9; and

Step 4: stopping driving the leading screw 8 when the light blockingwalls 2 have been deflected to a desired deflection angle.

Alternately, the control method may further comprise the followingsteps:

Step 5: pressing down the second button to input an instruction ofdeflecting the light blocking walls 2 towards a second directionopposite to the first direction;

Step 6: receiving and sending the instruction through the controller tothe motor 7, so that the motor 7 starts to rotate in a reverseddirection;

Step 7: driving the leading screw 8 to rotate through the motor 7, suchthat the nut 9 is caused to move in the second direction, and in turnthe light blocking walls 2 are deflected towards the second direction bythe transparent cover plate 3 connected to the nut 9; and

Step 8: stopping driving the leading screw 8 when the light blockingwalls 2 have been deflected to a desired deflection angle.

Briefly, a user may press down a certain button, instructing the motor 7to rotate and drive the transparent cover plate 3 to move in a desireddirection, thereby the light blocking walls 2 are deflected towards thedesired direction by a desired angle, such that the unallowed range ofviewing angle can be changed.

The control method shown in FIG. 12 corresponds to the anti-peepingdevice according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Thecontrol method may comprise steps of:

Step 1: presetting predetermined features of a predetermined user's faceand storing the predetermined features in the control device;

Step 2: using the information acquiring device to acquire features of acurrent user's face, and providing the acquired features to the controldevice;

Step 3: using the control device to compare the acquired features withthe predetermined features to determine whether or not the current useris the predetermined user;

Step 4: repeating Step 2 and Step 3 if it is determined that the currentuser is not the predetermined user, until it is determined that thecurrent user is the predetermined user;

Step 5: using the information acquiring device to acquire positioninformation of the current user in real time and providing acquiredposition information to the control device, if it is determined that thecurrent user is the predetermined user

Step 6: controlling deflection direction and deflection angle of thelight blocking walls based on a relative position relationship betweencurrent user and the anti-peeping device.

Briefly, the control method for anti-peeping device according to thefourth embodiment of the invention comprises: presetting predeterminedfeatures of a predetermined user's face; acquiring features of a currentuser's face; comparing the acquired features with the predeterminedfeatures to determine whether or not the current user is thepredetermined user; repeating the acquiring step and the comparing stepif the current user is not the predetermined user; activating anautomatic anti-peeping function and acquiring position information ofthe current user in real time, if the current user is the predetermineduser; adjusting or changing deflection direction and deflection angle ofthe light blocking walls based on a relative position relationshipbetween current user and the anti-peeping device. Optionally, if thecurrent user moves out of an identifying region of the anti-peepingdevice, or the current user initiatively ends the automatic anti-peepingfunction, the automatic anti-peeping process ends.

In the above control method, the comparing step may be realized throughmany different ways. For example, if a predetermined condition is met,the control device determines that the current user is the predetermineduser. The predetermined condition may be met when the features of thecurrent user's face totally consist with the predetermined features, orwhen the features of the current user's face at least 90% consist withthe predetermined features. In another example, the features of thecurrent user's face may be processed through an algorithm, and theprocessed features are compared with the predetermined features.

It is to be noted that specific technical features, structures, andmaterials throughout the specification can be combined in a suitableway, as long as it does not conflict with basic principles of thepresent invention.

Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, itwould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes ormodifications may be made in these embodiments without departing fromthe principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which isdefined in the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is,
 1. An anti-peeping device, comprising: aplate-shaped substrate; a transparent cover plate disposed in parallelwith the plate-shaped substrate; and a plurality of light blocking wallslocated between the transparent cover plate and the plate-shapedsubstrate, the plurality of light blocking walls being disposed inparallel with and spaced apart from one another, wherein a first end ofeach light blocking wall is deflectably connected to the plate-shapedsubstrate, and a second end of each light blocking wall opposite to thefirst end is deflectably connected to the transparent cover plate, suchthat each light blocking wall is deflected when the transparent coverplate moves relative to the plate-shaped substrate.
 2. The anti-peepingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the light blocking walls are spacedapart with a constant interval.
 3. The anti-peeping device according toclaim 1, wherein the cross section of each light blocking wall is inshape of a triangle, a trapezoid, or a rectangle.
 4. The anti-peepingdevice according to claim 1, wherein each light blocking wall is aflexible light blocking wall, or each light blocking wall is a rigidlight blocking wall deflectably connected to the transparent cover plateand the plate-shaped substrate through flexible connections.
 5. Theanti-peeping device according to claim 1, wherein regions betweenadjacent light blocking walls are light transmitting regions, andwherein each light blocking wall comprises a light blocking face thatfaces its corresponding light transmitting region.
 6. The anti-peepingdevice according to claim 5, wherein the light blocking face is a lightreflecting face, and each light blocking wall is made from a lightreflecting material, or each light blocking wall comprises a lightreflecting outer layer.
 7. The anti-peeping device according to claim 5,wherein the light blocking face is a light absorbing face, and eachlight blocking wall is made from a light absorbing material, or eachlight blocking wall comprises a light absorbing outer layer.
 8. Theanti-peeping device according to claim 1, wherein the plate-shapedsubstrate comprises a transparent substrate or display panel.
 9. Theanti-peeping device according to claim 1, further comprising twoflexible isolators disposed between the plate-shaped substrate and thetransparent cover plate, wherein both of the plate-shaped substrate andthe transparent cover plate are in a shape of a rectangle, and the twoflexible isolators are disposed at two opposite outer edges of theplate-shaped substrate and in parallel with each of the light blockingwalls.
 10. The anti-peeping device according to claim 1, furthercomprising four flexible isolators disposed between the plate-shapedsubstrate and the transparent cover plate, wherein both of theplate-shaped substrate and the transparent cover plate are in a shape ofa rectangle, and the four flexible isolators are disposed at four outeredges of the plate-shaped substrate and interconnected to form anintegral structure.
 11. The anti-peeping device according to claim 1,further comprising a fixing device for fixing the transparent coverplate at a desired position relative to the plate-shaped substrate. 12.The anti-peeping device according to claim 11, wherein the fixing devicecomprises: a rack connected to one of the plate-shaped substrate and thetransparent cover plate; and a toothed block secured to the other one ofthe plate-shaped substrate and the transparent cover plate, wherein thetoothed block is configured to engage with the rack at plurality ofpositions, so as to fix the transparent cover plate at differentpositions relative to the plate-shaped substrate.
 13. The anti-peepingdevice according to claim 1, further comprising a stop device secured tothe plate-shaped substrate for limiting a maximum displacement of thetransparent cover plate relative to the plate-shaped substrate.
 14. Theanti-peeping device according to claim 13, wherein the stop devicecomprises a stop plate or a stop block.
 15. The anti-peeping deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising a manual adjusting device forcontrolling a relative positional relationship between the transparentcover plate and the plate-shaped substrate, the manual adjusting devicecomprising: a connecting rod with one end thereof connected to thetransparent cover plate, the connecting rod comprising screw threads onits outer surface; and a knob having a threaded hole for engaging withthe screw threads of the connecting rod, wherein the knob is threadedonto the connecting rod and is retained at a fixed position relative tothe plate-shaped substrate, such that rotation of the knob causes theconnecting rod to move and in turn causes the transparent cover plate tomove relative to the plate-shaped substrate.
 16. The anti-peeping deviceaccording to claim 15, wherein the connecting rod further comprises aplurality of scales on its outer surface, and each scale corresponds toan angle at which the light blocking walls are deflected or adisplacement of the transparent cover plate relative to the plate-shapedsubstrate.
 17. The anti-peeping device according to claim 1, furthercomprising an automatic adjusting device for controlling a relativepositional relationship between the transparent cover plate and theplate-shaped substrate, the automatic adjusting device comprising: aleading screw; a nut threaded onto the leading screw, the nut beingsecurely connected to the transparent cover plate; a driving device forrotating the leading screw; an input unit for receiving an instructionfrom a user; and a controller configured to control the driving deviceto rotate the leading screw based on the received instruction.
 18. Theanti-peeping device according to claim 17, wherein the input unitcomprises a first button and a second button, the first button isconfigured to be pressured down so as to cause the leading screw torotate in one direction, and the second button configured to bepressured down so as to cause the leading screw to rotate in a reversedirection, and the first button and the second button are configuredsuch that when the first button or the second button is pressed down,the leading screw continues to rotate until the first button or thesecond button is released.
 19. The anti-peeping device according toclaim 17, wherein the input unit comprises a plurality of first buttonsand a plurality of second buttons, each first button is configured to bepressed down so as to cause the light blocking walls to respectivelydeflect to a first predetermined angle towards a first direction, andeach second button is configured to be pressed down so as to cause thelight blocking walls to respectively deflect to a second predeterminedangle towards a second direction opposite to the first direction. 20.The anti-peeping device according to claim 1, further comprising: adriving device for moving the transparent cover plate or deflecting thelight blocking walls; an information acquiring device for acquiringfeatures of a current user's face; and a control device, wherein thecontrol device is configured to receive the acquired features, conduct acomparison between the acquired features and predetermined features of apredetermined user's face stored therein, and control the driving deviceand the information acquiring device based on a result of thecomparison.
 21. The anti-peeping device according to claim 20, whereinthe control device is further configured to control operations of thedriving device based on position information of the current useracquired by the information acquiring device in real time.
 22. A controlmethod for the anti-peeping device according to claim 1, the controlmethod comprising steps of: moving the transparent cover plate; stoppingmoving the transparent cover plate when the transparent cover plate hasbeen moved to a desired position; and fixing the position of thetransparent cover plate relative to the plate-shaped substrate.
 23. Thecontrol method according to claim 22, wherein the step of moving thetransparent cover plate comprises: pressing a finger on an outer surfaceof the transparent cover plate facing away from the plate-shapedsubstrate; and moving the finger such that the transparent cover plateis moved under a friction force between the finger and the transparentcover plate.
 24. The control method according to claim 22, wherein theanti-peeping device further comprising an automatic adjusting device forcontrolling a relative positional relationship between the transparentcover plate and the plate-shaped substrate, the automatic adjustingdevice comprising: a leading screw; a nut threaded onto the leadingscrew, the nut being securely connected to the transparent cover plate;a driving device for rotating the leading screw; an input unit forreceiving an instruction from a user; and a controller configured tocontrol the driving device to rotate the leading screw based on thereceived instruction, and wherein the control method comprises steps of:rotating the knob to move the connecting rod, such that the transparentcover plate is moved relative to the plate-shaped substrate; andstopping rotating the knob when the transparent cover plate has beenmoved to a desired position.
 25. The control method according to claim24, wherein the connecting rod further comprises a plurality of scaleson an outer surface thereof, and each scale corresponds to an angle atwhich the light blocking walls are deflected or a displacement of thetransparent cover plate relative to the plate-shaped substrate, andwherein the step of rotating the knob comprises: rotating the knob andwatching the location of the knob relative to the scales until the knobis located at a desired scale.
 26. The control method according to claim24, wherein the input unit comprises a first button and a second button,the first button is configured to be pressured down so as to cause theleading screw to rotate in one direction, and the second buttonconfigured to be pressured down so as to cause the leading screw torotate in a reverse direction, and the first button and the secondbutton are configured such that when the first button or the secondbutton is pressed down, the leading screw continues to rotate until thefirst button or the second button is released, and wherein the controlmethod comprising steps of: pressing down the first or the second buttonsuch that the leading screw continues to rotate; and releasing the firstor the second button when the transparent cover plate has been moved toa desired position.
 27. A control method for the anti-peeping deviceaccording to claim 20, the control method comprising steps of:presetting predetermined features of a predetermined user's face;acquiring features of a current user's face; conducting a comparisonbetween the acquired features and the predetermined features todetermine whether or not the current user is the predetermined user; andcontrolling the driving device and/or the information acquiring devicebased on a result of the comparison.
 28. The control method according toclaim 27, wherein the step of controlling the driving device and/or theinformation acquiring device comprises: acquiring position informationof the current user in real time and controlling the driving device tomove the transparent cover plate relative to the plate-shaped substrate,if it is determined that the current user is the predetermined user; andrepeating the step of acquiring features of a current user's face andthe step of conducting a comparison between the acquired features andthe predetermined features, until it is determined that the current useris the predetermined user.
 29. The control method according to claim 27,further comprising terminating the step of controlling the drivingdevice and/or the information acquiring device, if the current user hasgone beyond a detecting region.